8 Of The Best Kia SUVs, According To JD Power

Kia, the Korean car company that was once a footnote in the U.S., has now pulled off one of the most epic comebacks of all time. From being a brand that was the butt of jokes (think of the "Kia Boyz" trend from a few years ago), today, Kia is a genuine contender alongside brands like Hyundai and Mazda. It's a big step up from where it used to be, as 20 years ago Kias were cars for people who couldn't afford anything better, depreciated like falling boulders, and broke down with depressing regularity. Since then, the brand has invested heavily in genuinely improving itself, which has resulted in a modern lineup that can compete with other heavyweight brands from Asia. 

The new Kia design language is loved by the car community, the prices are fairly reasonable, and the cars are now a lot more reliable than before. Additionally, though Kia is a major car brand that depreciates heavily (which is something that is true of all value-focused car brands), it now does so in line with the rest of the market. As of early 2026, Kia offers several vehicles in the U.S., which includes hybrid versions of existing nameplates; of these, three are sedans, and the rest are crossovers, SUVs, or MPVs. That trend follows the overarching theme of SUVs being more popular than ever before in the U.S., but which of Kia's SUVs are actually good? Well, according to J.D. Power, the industry's trusted review source, these are the eight.

The name of this SUV gives away the fact that it is an all-electric vehicle, with the "9" designating its size — it's the largest in the "EV" model line. With an overall J.D. Power consumer score of 73 out of 100, it doesn't fare too poorly, and remember — this is the lowest score on the list. The 2024 model did get a slightly higher score (76 out of 100), but the newer model still holds its own. The base trim has one electric motor that delivers 215 hp, and the EV9 can seat either six or seven passengers, depending on configuration. 

In terms of pricing, the new models have a base MSRP of $54,900 in early 2026, but this is before a destination fee of $1,495, options, and dealer markups (if applicable) are tacked on. However, for buyers who are willing to look at the used market, 2024 models with mileage between 30,000 and 40,000 miles are currently selling for about $40,000, which could be a pretty decent bargain. Standard features on the 2025 EV9 include heated and folding mirrors, a power liftgate, and onboard Wi-Fi, among other things. The driver assistance and safety suite is also impressive, with Highway Driving Assist, blind spot monitoring, and machine-learning cruise control as standard offerings. The last noteworthy point is charging — the EV9 can go from 10% to 100% in 6 hours and 45 minutes on a Level 2 240V socket.

For 2025, the Kia Niro is available as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid, and an all-electric model, each of which comes in with a base MSRP of $27,390, $34,490, and $39,600, respectively. This is before a delivery fee of $1,445 is tacked on for all three models. The entry-level gas engine in the Niro is a 1.6-liter inline-four, which is assisted by a hybrid system, for a total output of 139 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. The plug-in hybrid model raises those numbers, mainly owing to the fact that its electric motor is more powerful, bringing the total power output to 180 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. 

As was the case a few years ago, the EV Niro is the most powerful of the trio, coming in with 201 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque, most of which is available from basically zero rpm, like most electric vehicles. The Niro can seat up to five passengers across two rows of seating, and the hybrid model offers 22.8 cubic feet of cargo space with the second row up. The other two models should also land around that number, as they're not too different in terms of size and design. All Niro models in 2025 offer LATCH connections for mounting car seats in the second row. J.D. Power has given the 2025 Kia Niro an overall score of 75 out of 100, though the quality and driving experience scores are slightly lower at 74 and 73, respectively.

The Sorento is a midsize SUV that was first offered by Kia in 2002, and it's had decent sales success since. The 2025 model gets a J.D. Power score of 76 out of 100 overall, though it's worth mentioning that its resale value is rated "great," with a score of 84 out of 100. The Sorento can seat up to seven passengers and has three rows of seating. It sits on the larger side of its category, with a 110.8-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 189.6 inches. 

The width sits at 74.8 inches, while the height is 66.7 inches, and the whole vehicle weighs a beefy 3,814 pounds. The engine in the entry-level models is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder unit that is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, and there is also a hybrid and plug-in hybrid option available. The ICE variant makes 191 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. 

On the base LX trim, a 12.3-inch infotainment display has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, and the MSRP for this trim begins at $31,990. Add to that a destination fee that amounts to $1,445, and the total take-home price for a new Kia Sorento becomes $33,435 in early 2026. The hybrid option begins at $38,890, while the PHEV Sorento comes in at $48,290, both prices before destination.

Many people might think that the EV6 is simply a scaled-down version of the EV9, but this couldn't be further from reality. Where the EV9 is a massive, hulking SUV, the EV6 is actually a rather stylish sedan-like car. We say "sedan-like" because we're not really sure how to classify it. It's not a traditional sedan or hatchback, but more of a cross between the two. The powertrain is a single electric motor in base form that makes a minimum of 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, with a zero-to-60 mph time of 8.3 seconds. The price isn't too astronomical either, coming in with a base MSRP of $42,900 in early 2026 for 2025 models, plus a destination freight charge of $1,545. 

Dealer markups and options would of course be extra and the quoted price is for the entry-level Light RWD trim. Driver assist features on the EV6 include Blind-Spot Collision Detection, rear cross-traffic alerts, lane keep assist, and cruise control, and cargo space sits at 24.4 cubic feet. All of this means that the EV6 scores rather well in J.D. Power's reviews, coming in with an overall score of 78 out of 100, a quality and reliability score of 76 out of 100, and a stellar driving experience score of 89 out of 100. Readers should note that, at the time of writing, J.D. Power hadn't released figures for the 2025 Kia EV6, so we used the 2024 scores instead.

Next up, we have one of the more polarizing cars from Kia, in the form of the 2025 Kia Soul, which also happens to be the final model year of the vehicle, since the Soul has now been discontinued. It is the smallest SUV on offer from Kia, coming in with a wheelbase of 102.4 inches, a width of 70.9 inches, a 63.0-inch height, and an overall length of just 165.2 inches. Rear legroom sits at 38.8 inches, with rear headroom coming in at a cozy 39.5 inches, and cargo space is a spartan 24.2 cubic feet.

The Kia Soul, with its J.D. Power rating of 81 out of 100, was one of the (seemingly) few-and-far-between cars that still had physical knobs and buttons as opposed to the screen-ification of everything. The driver assist features were good, with lane keep assist, lane departure warning, high beam assist, and driver attention warnings as standard in 2025. The engine in the ultimate model year was a 2.0-liter inline-four unit that was mated to a CVT gearbox. 

This came together to provide the Soul with 147 hp at 6,200 rpm, along with 132 lb-ft of torque from an acceptable 4,500 rpm. While the horsepower figure might seem low for an SUV, the Soul weighed in at just 2,888 pounds — which, for context, is lighter than a Mazda3 sedan — so it wouldn't have felt massively underpowered. MSRP for the 2025 model year started at $20,490 for the base LX trim, and there was also a destination surcharge of $1,495.

Many people don't realize this, but the Kia Sportage is actually quite a legendary nameplate for Kia. Chief among its many past achievements is that it was the first passenger SUV to ever finish both the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally and the Baja 1000 in 1993. From then on, it cemented itself in the lineup, becoming one of the most successful Kia models of all time. In 2025, the Sportage, just like the Sorento, is offered as a gas-only model, as a hybrid, and as a plug-in hybrid model, with the base MSRPs being $28,790, $30,490, and $40,490, respectively. 

There is also a destination fee of $1,395 that buyers need to account for when purchasing a new Sportage. The gas version of the Sportage is powered by a 2.5-liter inline-four engine that makes 187 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque, routing power to the wheels via an eight-speed transmission. The SUV can seat up to five passengers in two rows of seating, and weighs a beefy 3,434 pounds. It's a comfortable and spacious SUV, with 41.3 and 39.4 inches of leg and headroom for the rear passengers, respectively. Cargo space is a generous 39.6 cubic feet. J.D. Power gives the 2025 Sportage a quality and reliability score of 84 out of 100, a driving experience score of 80 out of 100, and a resale score of 85 out of 100 — all of which combine for an overall score of 81 out of 100.

The Seltos is a crossover SUV that sits above the Kia Soul and below the Kia Sportage, both in terms of hierarchy as well as price. It begins with a base MSRP of $24,690 for the entry-level LX trim, going all the way up to $28,390 for the top-tier EX trim. The engine on the base trim is a 2.0-liter inline-four unit that makes 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque with a CVT gearbox, and it's worth noting that the Seltos is currently only available as a gas model. It has two rows of seating for five passengers and is 70.9 inches wide and stands 63.6 inches tall. 

The wheelbase is 103.5 inches, ground clearance is 7.3 inches, and the length of the Seltos is 172.6 inches, with a weight of 2,937 pounds. Standard features on the Seltos are auto light control, an 8-inch touchscreen, and rear AC vents, with an impressive suite of driver aids on top of that, including driver attention warning, active lane keep assist, and more. J.D. Power has given the 2025 Seltos an overall score of 81 points out of 100, and the small SUV ranks highly in specific areas too. For instance, it has a driving experience rating of 79, a quality and reliability rating of 86, and a resale score of 82 — all values out of 100. Overall, it's a pretty neat little package that punches well above its weight in one of the most competitive SUV price points in America.

Next up, we have the full-size Kia Telluride, a behemoth of a people-hauler that measures 78.3 inches in width, stands 68.9 inches tall, has a wheelbase of 114.2 inches, and is 196.9 inches long in total. It can seat up to eight passengers across three rows of seating and, at the time of writing, is only available with a gas engine. 

That said, on its website, Kia does have a section dedicated to an "upcoming" version of the Telluride that will be a hybrid version, though we cannot provide exact dates for the launch or release at the moment. For now then, the Telluride's base powertrain option remains a 3.8-liter V6 engine that comes with an eight-speed transmission, and it outputs 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. Standard features on the flagship Kia Telluride include remote-folding seats, dual-zone climate control, remote start, trailer stability assist, and more. 

There are 10 trims available for the 2025 model year, starting with the base-model LX, which has an MSRP of $36,390, to which a destination fee of $1,545 will be added before delivery. J.D. Power has given the Kia Telluride an overall score of 83 out of an available 100 points, making it the highest-rated Kia SUV on its list, at least as of early 2026. It features scores of 89, 83, and 85, with respect to resale, driving experience, and quality and reliability, respectively.

We began with the published list of Kia SUVs from J.D. Power, looking at the latest year that the ratings were given. Ratings for 2026 models often carried over from 2025, so we manually verified these individually on each vehicle's page on the J.D. Power website. We also mentioned the specific components that went into the J.D. Power score, like driving experience, resale value, and quality and reliability, where these were worth mentioning. 

Where 2025 figures were not available or not tested, we went with the most recently published figure before then, which turned out to be 2024 in all cases. After we'd gotten our initial list ready, we looked at comprehensive reviews of each car and sourced all other information directly from Kia America and the Kia Newsroom. Readers should note that where we've listed engine, torque, and horsepower figures, these are for the entry-level trim unless otherwise mentioned.